Q: Where Did the Northmen Settle in Gondor?
ANSWER: There are at least two references to Northmen settling in Gondor before Cirion ceded the province of Calenardhon to Eorl and the Éothéod. According to Appendix A in The Lord of the Rings, Minalcar brought many Northmen to Gondor after his victory over the Easterlings in Third Age year 1248:
In the days of Narmacil I their attacks began again, though at first with little force; but it was learned by the regent that the Northmen did not always remain true to Gondor, and some would join forces with the Easterlings, either out of greed for spoil, or in the furtherance of feuds among their princes. Minalcar therefore in 1248 led out a great force, and between Rhovanion and the Inland Sea he defeated a large army of the Easterlings and destroyed all their camps and settlements east of the Sea. He then took the name of Rómendacil.
On his return Rómendacil fortified the west shore of Anduin as far as the inflow of the Limlight, and forbade any stranger: to pass down the River beyond the Emyn Muil. He it was that built the pillars of the Argonath at the entrance to Nen Hithoel. But since he needed men, and desired to strengthen the bond between Gondor and the Northmen, he took many of them into his service and gave to some high rank in his armies.
The reader does not have to infer that this first wave of Northmen was necessarily a migration of sorts, but further on in that same passage Tolkien notes that “the high men of Gondor already looked askance at the Northmen among them; and it was a thing unheard of before that the heir to the crown, or any son of the King, should wed one of lesser and alien race” when Minalcar’s son Valacar married Vidumavi, daughter of Vidugavia.
The story of Eldacar, son of Valacar, says that the Dunedain of the southern fiefs opposed the king: these regions certainly included Umbar, Harondor, and probably the lands south of the Ered Nimrais, at least near Pelargir. I think it unlikely the Princes of Belfalas would have been disloyal since they remained a part of Gondor throughout its history (rather than fleeing to Umbar, as many royal foes and rivals would do). The provinces that specifically supported Eldacar upon his return, however, were Calenardhon, Anorien, and Ithilien. Belfalas may simply have been too far away for Eldacar to call upon its lords for help.
If there were substantial numbers of Northmen living in Gondor at this time, I suspect they would have been in Calenardhon; Minalcar had fortified the Anduin’s western bank and that would be the most logical area to station his Northman followers. Their families might have settled near the forts similar to the families of Roman legionaries along the frontiers. But Eldacar’s policy may have been different, for as Tolkien notes:
After the return of Eldacar the blood of the kingly house and other houses of the Dúnedain became more mingled with that of lesser Men. For many of the great had been slain in the Kin-strife; while Eldacar showed favour to the Northmen, by whose help he had regained the crown, and the people of Gondor were replenished by great numbers that came from Rhovanion.
Whereas Minalcar’s strategy was concerned with defending the Anduin against incursions from the east, Eldacar had to reward his new followers with land while respecting those who had shown him great loyalty; also, Eldacar needed to defend against a new threat from the south rather than a new threat from the east.
Hence, I think it probable that Tolkien envisioned this second wave of Northmen settling in more southerly lands, perhaps Harondor and maybe farther west beyond Belfalas. In fact, in the chapter “Minas Tirith” (in The Return of the King) Tolkien notes that one group of soldiers who march to reinforce Denethor II are “Hirluin the Fair of the Green Hills from Pinnath Gelin with three hundreds of gallant green-clad men”. It would be reasonable to argue that a fair-haired Numenorean colony could have existed near Pelargir from the Second Age. The vast majority of the Numenoreans were descended from the fair-haired Marachians (and many of the Numenorean rulers themselves may have been fair-haired). But the majority of Faithful Numenoreans (from whom came the Dunedain of Arnor and Gondor) were descended from the dark-haired Beorians (who mostly settled in western Numenor).
I think it more likely that the Black Numenoreans retained their fair-haired heritage (although this is not stated) than that a fair-haired heritage emerged in Gondor. Of course, Gondor could have brought fair-haired Black Numenorean families into its population at the height of its power; hence, Hirluin and his people could certainly be of pure or nearly pure Numenorean descent. But it seems reasonable to me to ask if Hirluin’s ancestors did not include at least some of the Northmen whom Minalcar and/or Eldacar brought to Gondor.
In fact, establishing a Northman colony in Pinnath Gelin would be a good strategic move for Eldacar. If he doubted the loyalties of people in the Anfalas (who had previously supported Castamir) then a watchful force in Pinnath Gelin (just to the north) would have been prudent. If, on the other hand, Anfalas was now loyal to the king but needed support, then stationing Northmen in Pinnath Gelin to provide reinforcements for the coast’s defense would also be prudent. Either way western Gondor’s loyalty would be assured if a colony of Northmen were placed there in Eldacar’s time.
Pinnath Gelin does not have to be the only location for a Northman colony. Harondor (South Gondor) between the Poros and Harnen rivers “became a debatable land between the Corsairs and the Kings” but that does not mean it had to be deserted immediately. Tolkien could have imagined the area resembling the Spanish frontier (called the “No Man’s Land”) during the Reconquista. The Reconquista lasted from approximately 732 CE to 1492; as the Spanish Christian lords’ power increased they seized more territory and gradually extended their borders south into the lands held by the Moorish princes. The pattern was that the frontier would stabilize for a generation or two and an area controlled by neither side would remain as a buffer region between the two.
Whereas Gondor’s power eventually waned and Harondor became more-or-less deserted, in the early years it could have been fortified and held against incursions from beyond the Harnen. It would not be until the Great Plague of 1636 before Gondor’s army was radically reduced in size. Eldacar died in Third Age year 1490 so he was still able to maintain garrisons in Mordor, at Orthanc and Aglarond, and at Tharbad. It seems unlikely he would have left Harondor unoccupied and undefended. Thus, many Northmen could have settled there (and perhaps perished in the Great Plague).
If you are writing fan fiction or role-playing adventures these are points to consider, should you want to include Northmen in your Gondorian settings.
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Have you read our other Tolkien and Middle-earth Questions and Answers articles?
Was Pinnath Gelin part of Anfalas or was it a separate province?
Also, would you consider the Anfalas province to be the entire region between the Lefnui and the Morthond? Or do you think Anfalas was just the coastal portions?
Except for some linguistic notes, I can find only two geographical references to either Pinnath Gelin and Anfalas. Both names are used in the “Minas Tirith” passage I cited; each name is used once in one other passage without the other (that is, there are three passages altogether). Although some people might argue this is sparse evidence, I infer that it means they were two separate, distinct regions sitting side-by-side.
Another fascinating possibility is that the origin of the unique martial tradition of the ‘knights’ of Dol-Amroth, who favoured mounted combat over the more traditional Numenorean / Gondorian style of warfare based on infantry, was an influx of Northmen settlers from the plains of Rhovanion.